Hydrotherapy Health Practices

Use hydrotherapy for wellness and recovery.

Hydrotherapy:

1. Mechanism of Hydrotherapy

‍Hydrotherapy acts through the nervous system. Like medications, it acts on the brain centers and their extensions, and then through the reflex areas. Function is stimulated or reduced by means of temperatures used and the length of their application. Friction accompanying the application of hydrotherapy also adds to and prolongs its effectiveness.

‍A. Advantages of hydrotherapy are evident:

It accomplishes its results through external application and can be used locally. Its effects are not toxic.
Medications are not selective. For example, when atropine is given to inhibit parasympathetic activity in the stomach, the whole parasympathetic distribution is included in the reaction: the eye, sweat glands, blood vessels, etc.
Any medication is finally destroyed by the liver, burned in the metabolic processes, or excreted by the excretory system, putting a tax on these organs.
Hydrotherapy adds no toxins to be destroyed or eliminated. It increases metabolism to get rid of toxins already present.
After hydrotherapy, there is a feeling of well-being. Drugs lack this effect, and may even produce the reverse.

B. Cautions in the use of heat:

Hands planting a small tree seedling outdoors with gardening gloves.

Waterfall cascading from a cliff into the ocean near grassy hills.

‍II. Disease or Discomfort and Suggested Remedy‍

All procedures must be done quickly for best results. There should be no delay between the various steps of a treatment. Use water as hot as can be tolerated. For each disease, choose one or more of the following remedies. If the patient feels chilly at any time, any treatment should be discontinued and the patient warmed with hot drinks, blankets, hot foot bath, and hot water bottles.

‍A. Common cold, flu, pneumonia:

Hot foot bath with cold water pour. Used in the earliest stage of the infectious process, this may be sufficient alone. Legs should not touch tub rim. Keep feet in hottest tub tolerated for 20 minutes. Finish off by pouring ice water over feet and frictioning dry with a towel. Follow by 30 minutes bed rest. Use caution/ask a doctor for recommendations if you are a diabetic, or patient with other indications of hardening of the arteries
Revulsive to chest, abdomen, or both for 3-5 minutes hot and 20-30 seconds cold. May use with hot foot bath, hot pack to back, or cold mitten friction at end. Use caution/ask doctor if you have suffered from a heart attack.

B. Cough:

Quick set of 3 revulsives to chest (2 minutes hot, 20 seconds cold), hot foot bath, CMF at end.
Heating compresses to chest overnight. Place a thin washcloth squeezed from ice water on the chest. Cover entirely with 1 inch to spare on all sides with one of the following: a thick piece of wool or synthetic pinned in place, or plastic piece cut from a bread bag. Dress warmly in a sweater. When removing, sponge chest with cold water or alcohol.
Cough syrup: Mix 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons water, and a drop of eucalyptus - as much as will stay on a toothpick.

C. Sinusitis:

D. Sore throat:

Hot water gargle and mouth wash. Gargle for 10 minutes.
Hot foot bath.
Heating compresses to neck. Squeeze thin cotton cloth from cold water, place on neck and cover well with strip of dry wool, or plastic piece cut from bread bag. Leave on until dry or overnight. Finish off with cold water or alcohol rub.
It may be necessary in severe cases to give simultaneously all of the following: a heating compress to the neck, a revulsive to the chest, and a hot foot bath, followed by a CMF.

E. Pain:

F. Fevers in children:

Hot sweat bath until sweating begins. For children ages 3 months to 3 years, sit in hot tub for 3 minutes, mother's arm submerged in the hot water for entire duration of bath, to be certain the water is not too hot. Stand child up, give a CMF, followed by an ice cold water pour to whole body; rub dry and put to bed. Fever is often down when the child awakens from sleep.
Fever is a normal response of the body to infection. Fevers of 99° F. up to 102° regularly accompany a viral infection and minor inflammatory and bacterial diseases. Fevers above 104° usually reflect a bacterial infection such as Strep or Staph and may require several days of vigorous hydrotherapy.

G. Headache:

Hot foot bath with cold compress to forehead.
Alternating hot foot bath (3 minutes hot, 30 seconds ice water), cold compress to forehead.
Alternate hot and cold to the head (hot water bag or hot compresses to base of head and cervical spine, ice water compress to face and temples, ears, and forehead). After 3 minutes, replace the heat with cold compresses, and then the cold compress with hot compresses. Give 3 complete sets of hot and cold.
Hand pressure to head. Stand behind seated patient. Place hands on temples and apply pressure as firmly as possible. Continue as long as relief is obtained.

H. Skeletal disorders: (See also "Pain" above.)

Alternate mild hot and cold compresses.
Apply hot fomentation to spine, alternating hot and cold.
Measures which are useful are rest, heat, massage, counter irritation such as wintergreen, exercise, heliotherapy. Hot packs or cold packs may be used followed by a hot or cold mitten friction.
Brief warm bath followed by a cold shower and vigorous rub. Dash of cold water to face or a short cold shower or rub, especially if alternated with heat.
Crick in neck or back. Hot sweat bath as under "Common cold" above.
Acute back strain. Ice block to painful area for 6-8 minutes.

I. Insomnia:‍

1. Apply a thick, warm (not hot) fomentation to spine for 20 minutes. Produce normal fatigue by daily exercise. A neutral bath at 44° to 97° F. will aid in reducing congestion of the brain and spinal cord, a very frequent accompaniment of insomnia. A massage is often effective. Hops, sage, or catnip tea are helpful, use in rotation. Sometimes a cold mitten friction is effective, starting with an already warm patient. Include 10-20 slow, deep breaths of fresh air.